What To Expect On The Grand Canyon's North Rim This Summer

Eight months after the Dragon Bravo Fire was declared out at Grand Canyon National Park, visitors returning to the North Rim will be confronted with a fire-damaged landscape, with all but the stonework of the Grand Canyon Lodge burned to the ground, and with limited recreational activities.

The May 15 reopening of the North Rim is less a return to normal than the beginning of a long recovery. Visitors are finding iconic viewpoints like Cape Royal, Point Imperial and most of the overlooks around what is left of the North Rim village. The North Kaibab Trail, which descends to the canyon floor along the Colorado River, has been stabilized and is open for rim-to-rim hiking. The general store and gas station are open, but no date has been set for the North Rim Campground's June reopening.

Visitors need to be self-sufficient as they encounter burned landscapes, limited services, no potable water, portable toilets and ongoing construction tied to rebuilding facilities, utilities and infrastructure destroyed by the wildfire that started last July 4 and exploded out of control under strong fanning winds. 

The fire at one point was the largest fire in the country, encompassing more than 145,500 acres. While the wildfire initially was managed for resource benefits, on July 11 winds out of the northwest gusting to 40 mph drove the flames into the rim's lodging area, destroying the historic lodge and dozens of historic log cabins used for visitors. Other facilities used by the National Park Service and concessionaires also were lost.

Park officials say travelers this season should expect a more rugged, self-reliant experience. “We (have) confirmation that the general store as well as the gas station will be reopening on May 15,” Joelle Baird, public affairs officer and communications lead for the national park, said in an interview two weeks before the reopening. “The gate at Jacob Lake will be opened (for the season) that morning. (Park) gates (are) open 24/7.”

The general store, located in the North Rim Campground, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily until September 7. The gas pumps are pay-at-the-pump and available 24/7.

“Day use access to scenic areas is open,” Baird said. “Visitors are still going to see those landscapes.”

The “game-changer,” according to Baird, is the public reopening of the North Kaibab Trail from rim to rim. It will be the only rim-to-rim trail open at this time. The Silver Bridge remains closed at least through June 30, limiting access to the Canyon floor via the Bright Angel Trail. Trails are opening a few at a time, and updates are available on the Grand Canyon website's hiking information page (https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/key-messages.htm). 

The Park Service has created a pocket map that can be downloaded onto phones and tablets to provide current North Rim conditions.  

What’s Open and What’s Closed

Facilities and area access are opening bit by bit on the rim. Crews are working to stabilize trails. At this point, all North Rim backcountry areas are open for backpackers. The scenic drives throughout the North Rim also offer access to some of the far-flung, less crowded overlooks, such as Monument Point, Crazy Jug Point and Rainbow Rim.

Scattered areas along the Dragon-Bravo Fire path remain closed as workers remove tree hazards and stabilize slopes to prevent debris slides or other situations dangerous to visitors. As of May 15, the area between Cape Royal Road and the canyon rim and the forest north and south of the campground is closed to visitors.

“We are slowly restoring access to the North Rim, and really emphasizing opening what we can, when we can, where we can,” said Baird. “There are areas that are relatively untouched…There are other areas, however, that…will still be remaining closed for the foreseeable future.”

Visitors to the rim need to be prepared. While the general store and gas station are open, service availability is limited. Provisions are available at the store, and as there are no restaurants open on the North Rim, grab-and-go at the general store is the only dining option. 

“We're trying to emphasize that visitors need to be self-reliant,” she said. “We are not going to have potable water available for the public. Visitor services are going to be pretty limited for this season.”

Another visitor favorite won’t be available this season. Due to insufficient staffing, Baird said no ranger programs will be offered on the North Rim. The backcountry office will pick up part of that role and answer visitor questions when it’s staffed. Regular hours have not yet been set but will be posted.

“We've had some challenges with recruitment and hiring for seasonal positions for our interpretation division,” she said. “We will have staff on the North Rim in our Backcountry Information Center. They will be posted just adjacent to the campground. Those rangers will be available for questions if people have them.”

Recovery Efforts 

Working through the first post-fire year, the Park Service has focused on emergency stabilization treatments. Its plans include mid- and long-term efforts to rebuild the North Rim to meet visitor expectations. The short-term plan is to restore signage and make accessible areas safe for visitors. Complete rebuilding and restoration of the North Rim will take years. Efforts to rebuild the Grand Canyon Lodge won’t reach the design stage until possibly 2027 or later.

“That has involved selective demolition and stabilization of the Grand Canyon Lodge, hazmat cleanup, hazard tree removal, and ongoing trail maintenance,” Baird explained. “We're also doing lengthy repair work for the roads right now. It's an ever-evolving process just for emergency stabilization work.”

While electricity has been restored to the North Rim, restrooms are portables. As part of one of the mid-term restoration programs, the Park Service is building a temporary wastewater treatment plant beginning this summer.  

“That will be for the North Rim for up to four years,” she said. “We're hopeful that contracts can be awarded shortly here and can start as early as this summer.”

Baird said the Park Service hopes the wastewater system and conventional restrooms will be operational for the 2027 season.

Overnight accommodations on the rim aren't yet ready for visitors, and they'll be limited to the campground that is scheduled to open sometime in June. While Interior Department officials have promised to rebuild the historic lodge and legislation has been introduced in Congress to hasten the process, no contracts have been issued.

The surrounding Kaibab National Forest offers many more campground options. Since April 16, all three of the public campgrounds and the privately-owned RV park in the forest have opened, said Matt Switzer, public affairs specialist for the North Kaibab Ranger District. The Park Service lists those campgrounds in its pocket guide. The ranger district has a list of its campgrounds and cabin rentals on the Kaibab National Forest website (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/kaibab/recreation/camping-cabins).

The national forest is also mitigating fire-related hazards. Switzer said that there are places where equipment for the work is stored throughout the forest. Those storage sites are off-limits to visitors. He also said that although House Rock Valley and Saddle Mountain Wilderness are open to visitors, hazardous areas remain, particularly during monsoons or in inclement weather. Heavy rain might cause debris flows or make roads impassable.

Baird said the privately-owned Kaibab Lodge, on Forest Service land north of the park entrance, will be open until October. 

Other than campgrounds, the nearest accommodations to the North Rim are the Jacob Lake Inn next to the national forest visitor center, where U.S. 89A connects with Arizona Route 67 to the Rim, 30 minutes north of the park entrance.

There are motels in Fredonia and Kanab, about an hour north of the park. About two hours from the park are the Marble Canyon lodges, dotted along the foot of the Vermillion Cliffs: Marble Canyon, Lees Ferry and Cliff Dwellers.